sensory issues, but not as a child?
19, i exhibit almost every other autistic trait in the book: control/rigidity/routine issues, executive dysfunction, social alienation and communication issues, masking, stimming and under-stimulation/overstimulation problems, giftedness in abstract thinking and pattern recognition...
thing is, i dont remember having a crazy amount of sensory sensitivity as a child. currently i struggle with it a LOT, to the point where i need earplugs to avoid having a meltdown... but i never had meltdowns or tantrums over noise as a child, and i don't remember particular issues. im wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience? all i remember is:
- in elementary id wear a super tight high ponytail with two headbands. every day. if it wasnt tight enough, id have my mom redo it. also only super tight and soft clothes so lots of leggings. no jeans (too cold/textured), no turtlenecks, and socks had to be worn inside out if they had a prominent seam on the inside where the toes were. no meltdowns, just annoyance.
- i disliked sleeping in summer: on one hand i needed a nice heavy cover, on the other i needed to stay cool (and my mom would get mad at me for using the air conditioner so often). dilemma. no meltdowns, just something that internally annoyed me. sleeping with no weight was like sleeping standing up.
- in middle school id wake up everyday to wash my hair, no conditioner, cause i detested greasy/weighed down hair. even slightly. also i reverted to only baggy/loose clothes and hated tight ones. sometimes id cover my ears in the lunchroom (id cover and uncover them super fast, cuz if u just cover them you still hear the "background" clearly). i also discovered i hated air fresheners.
- middle school was when i started buying my own clothes instead of using hand-me-downs, and i realized im a terrible shopper. after one store im mentally exhausted, i cannot try on and take off jeans for ages, all the clothing options are overwhelming, theres too much light and noise and pressure and after six stores id be lucky if i found one pair of jeans.
- ive never been a picky eater!! my mom started me on vegetables really early and always cooked a variety of foods. when it came to snacks or making my own food, i always ate the same things, but i was never picky. also recently i noticed i dont "like" or "dislike" food, it just feels/tastes more complex or interesting in my mouth. i love eating figs for example, theyre stimulating. then again, i do have a history of anorexia so that warped my food perception to an extent.
do any of these count as sensory issues, or is it just quirks? they were mild things, nowhere near the sensory overwhelm i experience currently
the point of the post was the fact that in childhood my sensory sensitivity was mild compared to every other autistic trait i possessed (with age and burnout my sensory issues became extreme). and since im currently getting diagnosed, i was doing a deep-dive to figure out how my autistic traits exhibited themselves back then, and if they were as severe as they are now. and the result was sensory issues being mild and more tolerable than they are now.
any insight is appreciated :)